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Tehran police say they will no longer detain women who break Iran dress code — will be forced to attend classes

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Thursday, December 28, 2017
12:57:16 EST PM

Supporters of Iranian religious hardliners take part in a demonstration after the weekly Friday prayer in Tehran on May 16, 2014 against an ongoing online campaign by Iranian women for greater social freedoms. ATTA KENARE / AFP/Getty Images

TEHRAN, Iran -- Police in Iran's capital say they will no longer arrest women for failing to observe the Islamic dress code imposed since the 1979 revolution.

The reformist daily Sharq on Thursday quoted Gen. Hossein Rahimi, the Tehran police chief, as saying "those who do not observe the Islamic dress code will no longer be taken to detention centres, nor will judicial cases be filed against them."

A sign reads "Respecting Hejab is mandatory in City Center," dictating Islamic dress for women at the new Isfahan City Center shopping mall on June 2, 2014 in Isfahan, Iran. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

The semi-official Tasnim news agency says violators will instead be made to attend classes given by police. It says repeat offenders could still be subject to legal action.

In this file photo taken on April 2, 2017, women watch people riding boats on the Persian Gulf Martyrs lake during the ancient festival of Sizdeh Bedar, an annual public picnic day on the 13th day of the Iranian new year, west of Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

Younger and more liberal-minded Iranian woman have long pushed the boundaries of the official dress code, wearing loose headscarves that don't fully cover their hair and painting their nails, drawing the ire of conservatives.